2010-11-18

A few comments on EOS 60D

I have now used the Canon EOS 60D DSLR for a month, and during this time I've shot a lot of stills and videos. I really like this camera! The body is only a bit larger than the EOS 550D but it feels very well shaped and comfortable to use.

A big plus: the tilt/swivel screen

For me, the most important new feature in the EOS 60D is the tilt/swivel LCD. Beforehand I didn't think it makes a lot of difference whether the camera has a tilt/swivel LCD or not, but now I think that I will never buy a DSLR without one!

You can flip the screen in any direction and use it in many ways and in many kind of shooting situations. I keep it open it for all my video shots on tripod, and it helps with low and high angle shoots (both with video and stills). When shooting video without a tripod, I also find that it is easier to balance and keep the camera steady if I have the tilt/swivel screen open. Especially helpful it is when I’m shooting video (or candid stills) holding the camera on my palm, almost down at waist level.

Smaller additions

With all new cameras, you will always get some new photography functions. With the EOS 60D you can do some in-camera RAW processing - nice to have if you need to be able to produce JPEGs out of your RAW files when don't have a computer available. You will also be able to apply creative special effect filters to the photos taken.

I seldom use flash units when taking photos, but when I do, I like to position the flash freely – sometimes on top of the camera and sometimes in a more interesting angle and perhaps also a bit further away from the camera. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised to see that the EOS 60D (just like the big sister EOS 7D) has an integrated Speedlite transmitter, and you can use the built-in flash of the camera to trigger external Speedlite EX flashes wirelessly.

Comparison to EOS 7D

With video, I believe that with the EOS 60D overheating is not a problem even when you record a series of long video shots. With the EOS 7D you should pause shooting video every now and then to avoid the camera becoming too hot and displaying a warning sign on the LCD. For videographers it is also nice to know that with the EOS 60D you can manually control the recording volume – just like the pros shooting with the EOS 5D Mark II.

Or course the EOS 7D, which costs a few hundred euros more that the EOS 60D, has its benefits. With that extra money you'll get a somewhat bigger and sturdier body with better weather sealing, a 100 percent viewfinder image, a faster frame rate and the possibility to do AF micro adjustment. The EOS 7D also has a dedicated button for video mode which makes changing the mode from stills to video a lot snappier – this is something I really miss in my EOS 60D.

For people who want to use a HDMI monitor or a HDTV set for monitoring, it is worth noting that the EOS 7D provides higher resolution video image via the HDMI output while recording. The output of EOS 60D (just like all the other EOS video DSLRs) drops down to 480p when you press the record button.

For me the perfect choice would probably be something like an "EOS 7D Mark2" with a tilt/swivel screen. But because there is no such thing, and I really appreciate the tilt/swivel screen, my choice for now is the EOS 60D.